High-Fidelity Simulations of a Slotted, Natural-Laminar-Flow Wing Section

Numerical calculations are carried out to describe the subsonic flow over a wing section with a slotted, natural-laminar-flow airfoil geometry. The two-element airfoil configuration can maintain an extended laminar-flow region and thereby attain high maximum lift with low profile drag. However, such sections may be susceptible to adverse effects in the low-drag regime. Time-accurate simulations are performed to investigate the flowfield about the configuration and to describe its behavior. High-fidelity solutions are obtained to the unsteady three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations at a chord-based Reynolds number of [Formula: see text] and freestream Mach number of 0.1, which correspond to experimental conditions. For comparison, several angles of attack are considered, and features of the flowfields are elucidated. A grid-resolution study is conducted to assure the accuracy of the computations, and results are compared to experimental measurements. The effect of boundary-layer tripping is investigated, and the flow through the slot is examined. The time-accurate simulations identified no adverse behavior of the slotted configuration.